New York under curfew as looters hit luxury stores

NEW YORK, United States - New York was under a curfew that would last until early Tuesday morning, officials said, after looters raided stores in central Manhattan, targeting some of the city's top retailers.

Upmarket fashion store Michael Kors on Fifth Avenue was among the luxury outlets hit, along with Nike, Lego and electronics shops across Midtown, before the 11:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew came into effect, AFP journalists said.

Groups of young people moved from block to block around the district, usually bustling with tourists but deserted due to the coronavirus, with entire streets blocked by police.

Images from local NY1 television showed some young people running out of a Best Buy electronics store before being apprehended by the police.

Stores in the south of Manhattan suffered a similar fate, according to an AFP photographer.

The New York Times reported that the flagship Macy's department store had also been targeted by looters.

Police did not immediately confirm this, simply saying that "numerous stores were hit" and arrests made "in the hundreds" across the city.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said a lot of stores around Madison Avenue had been hit and the situation was "really not acceptable."

As a result, he said the curfew would start from 8:00 pm on Tuesday, instead of 11:00 pm.

"The city is fully under control, and overwhelmingly calm and peaceful," he nevertheless insisted on NY1.

- 'Time to go home' -

The imposition of the curfew had been announced a few hours earlier by the mayor and New York state governor Andrew Cuomo after protests and looting during the weekend -- notably in the trendy SoHo district.

The mayor tweeted late Monday that "protesters were overwhelmingly peaceful today" but that some people were out to damage property and steal.

"We support peaceful protest in this city. But right now it's time to go home," de Blasio said.

"Some people are out tonight not to protest but to destroy property and hurt others -— and those people are being arrested. Their actions are unacceptable and we won't allow them in our city."

New York, the economic capital of the United States, and around 40 other cities across the country have imposed curfews after violent protests against police brutality triggered by the death of African-American George Floyd in Minnesota.

Just after 11:00 pm, around a hundred people held a peaceful demonstration in front of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the scene of major protests in recent days, taking a knee in tribute to victims of police brutality, according to an AFP journalist.

Police observed them from a distance but did not arrest anyone despite the curfew.

While looters hit New York, in Washington, President Donald Trump said he was "dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults and the wanton destruction of property."

Mayor de Blasio, a Democrat, denounced Trump's "bellicose words" and "divisive rhetoric."

"I don't think it's a statement from the last few hours that has caused all this. I think it's what he's done for years that has contributed," he said. 

Agence France-Presse

Chris Rock, Rosie Perez appear with New York Gov. Cuomo, urge mask wearing

(Reuters) - Comedian Chris Rock and actress Rosie Perez made a surprise appearance at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily news conference to underscore his message that the public should wear masks to help curb the coronavirus pandemic.

The celebrities, both of whom grew up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, said they would take part in public service campaigns urging New Yorkers to take the pandemic seriously, wear masks and take other steps to prevent the spread of the sometimes fatal virus.

Rock said he was seeing about 40 percent of people in Brooklyn wearing masks.

“It’s the kids who really aren’t wearing a mask, and you know, it’s sad,” he said. “It’s sad that our health has become, you know, a sort of political issue ... It’s a status symbol, almost, to not wear a mask.”

Perez briefly spoke in Spanish.

“To mi gente, wear a mask, please,” she said. “The numbers in our communities are staggering. This is not a joke. This is not a hoax. This is real.”

Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by David Gregorio

-reuters-

Professional clubs can return to New York facilities

NEW YORK -- New York officials said Sunday that American professional sports teams can return to their training facilities in the state that was slammed the hardest of all by the coronavirus pandemic.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement, saying that sports are allowed to restart in America's most deadly state but it will be limited to just training facilities to begin with and then only behind closed doors. 

There have been over 1.6 million cases and 97,000 deaths in the US, including close to 30,000 deaths in New York.

"Starting today, all the New York professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps," Cuomo said during a news conference on Sunday. 

"I believe that sports that can come back without having people in the stadium, without having people in the arena -- do it! Do it!" 

New York is by far the hardest hit state but officials say new infections are now on the downward trend.

New York serves is home to several professional sports teams, with two in the NBA (New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets), three in the NHL (New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres), two in Major League Baseball (New York Yankees, New York Mets) and the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

MLB, NBA and NHL are all working on plans to start or resume their respective seasons. 

"Work out the economics, if you can. We want you up. We want people to be able to watch sports," Cuomo said. "To the extent people are still staying home, it gives people something to do. 

"It's a return to normalcy. So we are working and encouraging all sports teams to start their training camps as soon as possible. And we'll work with them to make sure that can happen."

Agence France-Presse

New COVID-19 cases in New York coming from people leaving home - gov

NEW YORK - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday the state's new confirmed COVID-19 cases are predominantly coming from people who left their homes to go shop, exercise or socialize and not from essential workers.

"That person got infected and went to the hospital or that person got infected and went home and infected the other people at home," he said during his daily news conference on the coronavirus.

State data showed that the number of new cases statewide has fluctuated between 2,100 and 2,500 per day. The number of new cases decreased to 2,419 on Saturday from 2,762 on Friday.

Cuomo said he theorized last week that new cases were coming from essential workers.

"That was exactly wrong," he said. "The infection rate among essential workers is lower than the general population and those new cases are coming predominantly from people who are not working and they are at home."

The state's budget director, Robert Mujica, said officials expect to "learn a lot more" about the genesis of new cases from contact tracing over the next week.

The state just began contact tracing, which will involve several hundred people, he said.

Cuomo said the five regions that have already opened were required to have a certain number of tracers proportionate to their populations.

"The tracing operation is tremendously large and challenging," he said.

-reuters-

Fifth of New Yorkers infected with coronavirus, antibody test suggests

More than one in five New Yorkers may have already had the new coronavirus, a testing sample showed Thursday, suggesting infections are much higher than confirmed cases suggest.

Widespread testing -- including for antibodies -- is viewed as key to American states being able to lift stay-at-home orders and reopen their shuttered economies.

The presence of antibodies means a person has already been infected with the virus and might mean they are immune, meaning they could likely return to work without catching the illness again.

A total of 3,000 customers at supermarkets across the state of New York were randomly tested for coronavirus antibodies this week, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

Almost 14 percent of them registered positive, he told reporters. In New York City, 21 percent of tests came back positive.

Those would translate to roughly 2.6 million people statewide and around 1.7 million people in the Big Apple as having already had the new coronavirus.

Those numbers are way above the 263,460 declared cases across New York state, the epicenter of America's outbreak, where the virus has killed more than 15,500 people.

"It's vital for any state, I believe, to first get a baseline study of where you are on the infection rate," Cuomo said.

There are uncertainties about the accuracy of antibody tests and the sample was small. But Cuomo noted that, if the data played out across the state it would mean that the death rate for COVID-19 there was only 0.5 percent.

That is much lower than the US average and the worst-affected countries in Europe, which are based on confirmed cases.

According to Johns Hopkins University, Belgium has a known-case mortality rate of 14.9 percent, France 13.6 percent and the United States 5.5 percent.

Agence France-Presse

New York to close schools, houses of worship in suburban center of coronavirus outbreak

NEW YORK - Schools, houses of worship and large gathering venues in part of the New York City suburb of New Rochelle will shut down for 2 weeks in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak at its local epicenter, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday.

The shutdown, which begins on Thursday and is due to last until at least March 25, affects an area of New Rochelle in Westchester County that measures 1 mile in diameter. The county accounts for more than 100 of the state's 173 confirmed cases, the governor said.

"This will be a period of disruption for the local community," Cuomo said at a news conference. "It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster in the country. And this is literally a matter of life and death."

Cuomo said he was calling in the National Guard to the containment area to assist with cleaning public spaces and to deliver food to homes.

New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson said the National Guard would ensure that students who rely on school meals would receive food but would "not have a military or policing function."

"It is very important to clarify that this is not an exclusion or quarantine zone. No one is prohibited from entering or leaving the area," the mayor said at a news conference after the governor's announcement.

The number of cases of the highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the virus has risen steadily to more than 800 in the United States. There have been 28 deaths, most of them in Washington state, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. New Jersey on Tuesday reported the state's first death.

The containment measure will close three public schools and several parochial and private schools, in addition to houses of worship, country clubs, and possibly other public places, Bramson said.

New Rochelle's senior center, which is outside the containment zone, will also be closed until further notice to prevent spread of the disease among one of the most vulnerable groups, the mayor said.

Coronavirus deaths have disproportionately hit the elderly with the largest US cluster at a nursing home near Seattle.

Bramson said his office was still consulting with state authorities to create a comprehensive list of businesses and facilities that would be affected.

The group of cases in Westchester County emerged after an attorney who lives in New Rochelle and works in Manhattan became the second person in New York to be diagnosed with the virus last week.

Some cases in the town have been traced to the Young Israel Synagogue of New Rochelle, where the attorney attended services last month. The synagogue, which public health officials closed last week, is at the center of the containment zone.

"The heaviest burdens have fallen upon the members of Young Israel," Bramson said. "Many are quarantined, which is enormously disruptive to their daily lives, and yet there has been a sense of commitment to the common good."

New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said in a statement on Tuesday that he believed the risk generally to people in New York remained low, and Cuomo urged New Yorkers not to panic.

"If you are not a member of the vulnerable population then there is no reason for excess anxiety," Cuomo said. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New York to ban flavored e-cigarettes after illnesses, deaths

NEW YORK - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday announced a ban on all flavored e-cigarettes besides tobacco and menthol in response to a recent nationwide spate of sometimes deadly lung illnesses that US health officials have linked to vaping.

Cuomo said vaping was dangerous and that he was concerned fruit- and candy-flavored e-cigarettes were leading young people to get hooked on nicotine.

"These are obviously targeted to young people and highly effective at targeting young people," the Democratic governor said at a news conference in Manhattan.

Nearly 400 people around the country have been stricken with a lung illness that is potentially vaping-related, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Six have died.

Investigators are still trying to understand what causes the illnesses. Meanwhile, health officials have warned people against buying vaping products on the street or using marijuana-derived oil. They have said people should avoid inhaling vitamin E acetate, an ingredient found in some vaping products.

In New York, the state's health commissioner, Howard Zucker, will formally ban flavored e-cigarettes besides tobacco and menthol during an emergency meeting of the state's Public Health and Health Planning Council this week, Cuomo said.

Under state law, the council can vote to issue or amend certain regulations affecting public health.

New York would be only the second state in the nation to introduce such a ban. Michigan did so earlier this month. On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced plans to remove all flavored e-cigarettes from store shelves.

Sales of e-cigarettes are banned in New York to people under 18 years old, an age that will rise to 21 in November. Cuomo said he has told state police to increase enforcement against sales to underage people. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New York state decriminalizes recreational marijuana use

NEW YORK - New York state on Monday decriminalized recreational marijuana use, meaning possession of small amounts of the drug will be punished with fines rather than jail time, a step short of Governor Andrew Cuomo's goal of legalizing pot.

Cuomo said the measure would also allow a mechanism for clearing the records of people who had been criminally convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana.

Eleven U.S. states plus the District of Columbia have fully legalized recreational marijuana use since Colorado first did so in 2014, according to the Marijuana Policy Project lobbying group. Another 15 states including New York have decriminalized it.

"By providing individuals who have suffered the consequences of an unfair marijuana conviction with a path to have their records expunged and by reducing draconian penalties, we are taking a critical step forward in addressing a broken and discriminatory criminal justice process," said Cuomo.

Over 360,000 people were arrested for possession of marijuana in the state of New York from 2008 to 2017, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Democratic governor said in December that legalizing recreational marijuana use was one of his top legislative priorities for 2019, a reverse from his position on the issue during his previous two terms. He argued that revenue from taxing the drug could help address a number of needs, including New York City's troubled subway system, which is desperately in need of major repairs and upgrades. A state report at the time estimated the legal market for marijuana at between $1.7 billion and $3.5 billion annually.

New York lawmakers' efforts to legalize marijuana collapsed in June amid disagreement among Democrats on how to regulate the industry, prompting the introduction of the decriminalization bill.

The failure to legalize marijuana fully highlights a split among New York Democrats, who control both of the state's legislative chambers after capturing the state senate in November's elections.

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law. During the administration of former President Barack Obama, the U.S. government largely permitted states to determine how to handle the issue on their own, but the Justice Department under President Donald Trump has allowed prosecutors to enforce federal law even in states where marijuana is legal.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NY mayor criticized for being on campaign trail during blackout

NEW YORK, United States - New York Mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Bill de Blasio found himself under fire Sunday -- notably from the state's governor -- for being out of town when a major blackout hit the city because he was campaigning in Iowa.

The hours-long blackout on Saturday night, which plunged Times Square into darkness and brought subways to a halt, affected more than 70,000 customers on Manhattan's West Side.

The power returned gradually from around 10:00 pm (0200 GMT Sunday), with full service restored at about midnight. The cause is still under investigation.

De Blasio had planned to spend the night in Iowa, and initially told CNN he needed more information before he could decide whether or not to rush home. That hesitation earned him quick scorn on the internet and beyond.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat like De Blasio, pulled no punches when he himself appeared on CNN.

"Mayors are important and situations like this come up and you have to be on site," Cuomo said late Saturday.

Despite their party affiliation, there is no love lost between the pair, and they are often at odds politically.

Cuomo arrived in the city as the blackout was still ongoing and was giving a press conference as the lights started to come back on.

De Blasio eventually returned home late Saturday and took to the airwaves on Sunday to defend himself.

"The important thing is to have the hand on the wheel and make sure things are moving effectively and communicate to people," he told CNN.

"When you're a mayor, or a governor, you're going to travel for a variety of reasons."

But Cuomo said during his eight years in office, "I can count the number of times I leave the state basically on my fingers."

"I think it's important to be in a place where you can always respond but everybody makes their own political judgment," he added.

tu/sst/wd

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New York latest state to approve driver's licenses for illegal immigrants

Illegal immigrants to the United States will be able to obtain driver's licenses in New York under a bill passed by the state legislature on Monday and signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The state Senate in Albany voted 33-29 to approve the legislation, which previously passed in the Assembly. Democrats control both chambers of the legislature.

New York will join at least a dozen other states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, becoming the second most populous state after California to take that step.

Many Republicans in New York opposed the measure, which was passed after Republican President Donald Trump moved to crack down on illegal immigration on several fronts.

New York Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy in a statement said the bill was one of several measures demonstrating the state's Democrats "are in lockstep with leftist radicals and could care less about the priorities of taxpaying New Yorkers."

Cuomo, a Democrat, had expressed concern that if the bill was enacted it would create a database of undocumented immigrants that federal authorities could use to deport them.

But the New York state attorney general has declared the bill had safeguards against that, Cuomo's legal counsel, Alphonso David, said in a statement.

Cuomo signed the bill on Monday night, his spokesman Peter Ajemian said in an email. It will take effect before the end of the year, according to the text of the measure.

New York state Senator Luis Sepúlveda, the measure's Democratic sponsor, said in a statement it will benefit the children of illegal immigrants by allowing their parents to drive them to school.

"In a time when immigrants' rights and livelihoods are being severely threatened, the Green Light Bill is a clear message that we New Yorkers will always choose to lead with courage and love and to fight for everyone's right to the American Dream," Sepúlveda said.

He also said it will improve safety on the roads.

In California, hit-and-run accidents decreased after illegal immigrants were granted driver's licenses beginning in 2015, according to a study by Stanford University researchers that was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2017.

The authors of the study suggested that, before the law took effect, illegal immigrants were more likely to flee the scene of an accident because their vehicles were unregistered and they feared having them impounded.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Amazon drops New York headquarters plan amid protests

NEW YORK - Amazon abandoned plans for a new headquarters in New York City on Thursday, blaming opposition from community leaders angry at the huge subsidies being offered to one of the world's most successful companies.

The New York neighborhood of Long Island City was one of 2 locations Amazon selected last year after a long search for a second headquarters or "HQ2." 

The online retail giant had promised the sprawling complex in the borough of Queens would create 25,000 jobs in exchange for nearly $3 billion in state and city incentives -- which had riled some New Yorkers.

"While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project," Amazon said in a statement.

"We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion -- we love New York, its incomparable dynamism, people, and culture -- and particularly the community of Long Island City, where we have gotten to know so many optimistic, forward-leaning community leaders, small business owners, and residents."

Amazon, which is also in cloud computing, streaming media and artificial intelligence, chose the site after a lengthy search, saying it was outgrowing its home in Seattle, Washington.

The company said it would "continue growing" its 5,000-strong workforce in New York.

No new bidding 

It added that it would not reopen the bidding process but would "proceed as planned" with a site in northern Virginia and a logistics center in Nashville, Tennessee.

The New York plan had been endorsed by Mayor Bill De Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo, but ran into fierce opposition from some local politicians and community activists, including newly elected Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district borders the New York site.

"Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon's corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world," she tweeted.

De Blasio sounded bitter about the reversal of a deal clinched after months of negotiations.

"We gave Amazon the opportunity to be a good neighbor and do business in the greatest city in the world. Instead of working with the community, Amazon threw away that opportunity," the mayor said in a statement.

"If Amazon can't recognize what that's worth, its competitors will."

Cuomo meanwhile lamented that "at a small group politicians put their own narrow political interests above their community" to pressure Amazon to withdraw.

He said the state Senate, which appointed an Amazon opponent to a key board, "has done tremendous damage" and "should be held accountable for this lost economic opportunity."

Conservative and liberal opponents have argued that the company led by Jeff Bezos, who tops the Forbes rich list with a personal wealth of $134 billion, does not need what some describe as "corporate welfare." 

Critics also voiced concerns that the promised jobs could inflate an already overpriced housing market and strain infrastructure. 

Initial reactions to Amazon's decision from the local community appeared mixed.

"I'm relieved because I'm a renter here," said one female resident of the Queens neighborhood who declined to give her name. "I'm not sure these jobs would have been what the people living in this community need."

Bitter pill 

But others like David Katzen, who owns a construction company in the neighborhood but does not live there, were disappointed.

"It was a horrible decision by the local legislators to oppose it," he told AFP. "It was short-sighted and ultimately what's going to happen here? Nothing. There's no good that came of this."

George Miranda, who leads the local branch of the blue-collar Teamsters union, said after the announcement: "New Yorkers made it clear that Amazon wasn't welcome in our city if it would not respect our workers and our communities. Apparently, the company decided that was too much to ask."

Scott Galloway, a New York University professor and author, said on Twitter after the announcement: "Immunities kick in and NYC finds its testicles. This is good for NYC, and America. Billionaires should not have their hand(s) out."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New York rail operator bolsters security after London bombing

NEW YORK - The bombing of a packed London commuter train on Friday prompted officials to beef up security on New York City's subway system, major commuter rail networks, at airports and other locations.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates mass-transit lines in New York City and the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North commuter lines, said it was closely monitoring the investigation of the fiery blast that injured 29 people in a West London underground station.

The MTA will expand bag screening and deploy extra police patrols on the LIRR and Metro-North, as well as in midtown Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal and Pennsylvania Station, "out of an abundance of caution," spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.

MTA officials were also consulting with New York City police about bolstering security in the subway system, he said.

New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement he had also directed authorities to increase security at airports, bridges, tunnels and other sensitive locations across the state.

"On behalf of all New Yorkers, I condemn the apparent terrorist attack in London today in the strongest possible terms," Cuomo added.

The NYPD said it has been in contact with London law enforcement officials and has added officers, some heavily armed, and bomb-sniffing dogs to the city's transit system.

Across the country, Los Angeles police said in a statement they had beefed up their presence on subway, commuter train and bus lines in response to the attack in London.

Amtrak, the country's nationwide passenger rail carrier, said it was closely following the events in London but was not adding to the layers of security it already has in place.

"Robust security measures are in place at stations, on trains and along the tracks, and partnerships with federal agencies to gather intelligence information are underway," Amtrak said in a statement.

source: news.abs-cbn.com
 

New York train crash injures more than 100 commuters

NEW YORK - A New York City train derailed at a downtown Brooklyn terminal during Wednesday's morning rush hour, injuring more than 100 commuters in the metropolitan area's second major rail accident since late September.

Emergency crews swarmed Atlantic Terminal after the Long Island Rail Road train went off the tracks inside the busy transportation hub at 8:20 a.m. local time, the New York City Fire Department said.

While none of the injuries were life-threatening, at least 11 people were sent to the hospital, Deputy Assistant Chief Dan Donoghue said at a briefing at the crash site. Between 600 and 700 people were on the train, he said.

The train, arriving from the Queens neighborhood of Far Rockaway, failed to stop on time. Traveling at a fairly slow speed, it derailed after striking a bumping block, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at the briefing.

About 103 people were injured, the fire department said in a Twitter message. The front two cars of the six-carriage train were severely damaged. The station's partitions and bumping block, which prevents railway vehicles from going past the end of a section of track, were also damaged.

Passengers said the blood and chaos following the derailment was frightening.

"There were people crying," said Aaron Neufeld, a 26-year-old paralegal who commutes on the rail line daily. "I saw some bloody faces."

Neufeld, who was riding in the second car, said the train appeared to be approaching normally until it crashed, knocking passengers on top of one another and shattering glass windows.

"Bags went flying," he said. "People were thrown to the ground."

The engineer was probably responsible for failing to stop the train before it hit the bumper, said Tom Prendergast, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency that runs the railroad.

The train was traveling between 10 and 15 miles per hour as it approached the bumper, he said, which is standard.

"At that speed, it's pretty much the locomotive engineer's responsibility to stop the train," Prendergast said as he stood beside Cuomo at the briefing. Investigators will interview the engineer, the conductor and brakeman to determine the cause of the accident, he said.

There were no major service disruptions for other Long Island Rail Road lines at the terminal, an MTA official said. Earlier, officials said crews were working to restore service at the terminal by the evening rush hour.

In late September, a New Jersey Transit train crashed into a terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey, killing one woman and injuring 114 people, including the engineer.

Cuomo, who has made infrastructure improvements a centerpiece of his agenda, said Wednesday's incident was minor in comparison. The most serious injury in the crash was a broken leg, he said.

"There was extensive damage in Hoboken," Cuomo said. "That train was coming in much faster, did much more damage."

The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said they were sending investigators to the scene.

The Long Island Rail Road is the United State's largest commuter rail system, serving more than 330,000 passengers a day, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

Atlantic Terminal, which also connects commuters to nine city subway lines, is one of the busiest New York stations. (Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus, David Shepardson and David Ingram; Writing by Laila Kearney; Editing by Frank McGurty and Lisa Von Ahn)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New York bars sex offenders from Pokemon Go

New York, United States - It's the smartphone game electrifying the world but New York took steps Monday to ban sex offenders from using the app to potentially prey on child victims.

The game, developed by US-based software company Niantic, a spinoff of Google, has been downloaded more than 75 million times across the United States and has gone viral across the world.

But Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered New York's department of corrections to ban nearly 3,000 registered offenders on parole from downloading, accessing or taking part in Pokemon Go as well as other Internet-enabled games.

"Protecting New York's children is priority number one and, as technology evolves, we must ensure these advances don't become new avenues for dangerous predators to prey on new victims," Cuomo said in a statement.

The governor wrote Monday to software developer Niantic, Inc. asking them to bar sexual predators from playing Pokemon.

"The state has taken action to prohibit sex offenders from using this game, but we need your assistance to make certain that sex offenders will not continue to use Pokemon GO by technologically barring their use," he said in the letter.

A report from two New York state senators showed that children playing Pokemon have been unwittingly lured into proximity of sex offenders.

Their investigation caught 57 Pokemon characters directly outside 100 homes of registered sex offenders on probation or parole whose crimes involved child abuse or possession of child pornography in the city of New York.

There are nearly 3,000 sex offenders currently on parole in New York, the fourth most populous state in the United States.

Since 2008, New York sex offenders have been required to register all email accounts and Internet identities with the state criminal justice services.

The list is given to more than two dozen social networking companies on a weekly basis in order to purge offenders from their membership.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Blizzard paralyzes New York, Washington, 19 dead

New York City just shy of all time record

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON -- Millions of residents, business owners and workers began digging out on Sunday from a massive blizzard that brought Washington, New York and other northeastern U.S. cities to a standstill, killing at least 19 people in several states.

The storm was the second-biggest in New York City history, with 26.8 inches by midnight Saturday, just shy of the record 26.9 inches set in 2006, the National Weather Service said.

Thirteen people were killed in weather-related car crashes in Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia on Saturday. One person died in Maryland and three in New York City while shoveling snow. Two died of hypothermia in Virginia, officials said.

On the New Jersey shore, a region hard-hit in 2012 by Superstorm Sandy, the storm drove flooding high tides.

After dumping about two feet of snow on the Washington area, the storm unexpectedly strengthened as it spun northward and slammed into the New York metropolitan area on Saturday, home to about 20 million people.

Winds gusting to more than 64 kph sculpted drifts many feet high, burying cars.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency, as did 10 other governors. A ban imposed on all travel on New York City area roads and on Long Island, except for emergency vehicles, was set to end at 7 a.m. on Sunday. Bridges and tunnels into the city were also set to reopen.

Subways running above ground and trains operated by the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North halted service on Saturday and were to be evaluated for service restoration at 6 a.m.

By early Sunday the storm had all but moved off the coastline, with remnants trailing over parts of Long Island and Cape Cod. Much of the northeast was expected to see a mix of sun and clouds on Sunday with temperatures just above freezing.

Shows, flights canceled

Given the massive storm's impact, it was too soon to tell how much Wall Street's reopening on Monday would be affected.

Broadway theaters canceled Saturday matinee and evening performances at the urging of the mayor, and a Bruce Springsteen concert set for Sunday was called off.

As an otherworldly quiet descended on the usually bustling city of 8.5 million, the nation's most populous, tourists and residents took to city streets, venturing into the expanses of parks, some on skis. Others built snowmen and had snowball fights.

Authorities in New York and New Jersey halted public transportation and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority took the rare step of suspending operations through Sunday.

About 3,500 flights were canceled on Sunday, with more than 600 already canceled for Monday, said FlightAware.com, the aviation data and tracking website.

United Airlines said it would not operate at Washington-area airports on Sunday, and would gradually resume service on Monday. The airline plans to start "very limited operations" on Sunday afternoon at its Newark, New Jersey, hub.

The brunt of the blizzard reached the New York City area after battering Washington, where snow piled up outside the White House and famous monuments were frosted with snow.

The record high of 28 inches of snow in Washington was set in 1922 and the biggest recent snowfall was 17.8 inches in 2010.

More high tides expected

High winds battered the entire East Coast, from North Carolina to New York, reaching 70 mph in Wallops Island, Virginia, late on Friday, whipping up the tides and causing coastal flooding, said National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Gallina.

The snow also engulfed the Mid-Atlantic cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia while about 150,000 customers in North Carolina and 90,000 homes in New Jersey lost electricity. Accumulations in parts of Virginia and West Virginia reached 40 inches.

Tides higher than those caused by Superstorm Sandy three years ago pushed water onto roads along the Jersey Shore and Delaware coast and set records in Cape May, New Jersey, and Lewes, Delaware, said NWS meteorologist Patrick O'Hara.

Some evacuations were reported along the New Jersey shore. Wildwood, a town of more than 5,000 people about 48 km southwest of Atlantic City on a barrier island, saw some of the worst flooding.

Emergency workers in inflatable boats rescued more than 100 people from homes, said Wildwood Fire Chief Christopher D'Amico.

Water levels reached chest-height in parts of Wildwood and refrigerators and soda machines floated down the main street.

Further north, barrier islands near Atlantic City were also experiencing significant tidal flooding, said Linda Gilmore, the county's public information officer.

The high tides were set to return on Sunday morning.

The storm developed along the Gulf Coast, dropping snow over Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky on Friday. On the coast, warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean collided with cold air to form the massive winter system, meteorologists said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

US on alert for terror threat on July 4 holiday

NEW YORK, United States - The United States is ramping up security across the country and urging people to stay alert over the Independence Day holiday weekend over fears of a terrorist threat.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center have all warned of an increased risk of attacks during the long Fourth of July weekend.

New York State is ratcheting up its monitoring of celebrations and events on Saturday, expected to draw large crowds to America's biggest city.

"We are keenly aware that New York State remains a top target for terrorists," Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

"As we celebrate with family and friends this Independence Day, I urge all New Yorkers to not only remember the freedoms that we hold dear, but also remain cautious of their surroundings and learn to recognize and report suspicious activity."

Other major cities, including the capital Washington, were also on heightened guard, although there were not thought to be any specific threats.

"Our nation is under threat, our law enforcement, our military are under threat, so we take the threat seriously," ABC News quoted US Park Police Chief Robert MacLean as saying.

In Boston, scene of an attack on the city's marathon in 2013 that killed three and left scores wounded, police said security would be high.

"We're just stepping it up to make sure it can be as safe as possible," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told The Boston Globe.

A lone-wolf attack would be the "worst nightmare," he said, adding police were not aware of any specific threats.

US authorities will also be on their guard abroad.

The State Department had "reminded our posts to review their security posture and procedures," spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

"The reminder issued by the State Department is routine, done before all major holidays, and is not indicative of any specific security threat," he added.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Sandy's U.S. death toll at least 70

U.S. President Obama said Wednesday victims of Hurricane Sandy will "get all the help you need" and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said "we will get up."

The megastorm killed at least 70 people in the United States, including 24 in New York City alone, The New York Times reported, after leaving a like number dead in the Caribbean. Property damage could be as high as $20 billion throughout the Northeast, catastrophe-risk modeling firm EQECAT said.

Speaking in Brigantine, N.J., after a tour of damage caused by the massive storm, Obama said: "We are here for you and we will not forget. We will follow up to make sure that you get all the help you need until you rebuild."

Christie thanked Obama for his "personal concern" for New Jersey and said, "We will get up and we will get this thing rebuilt."

Christie said New Jersey's "challenge now is to get back to normalcy," and he once again expressed gratitude to Obama for the administration's response to the disaster.

"I'm pleased to report that he has sprung into action immediately ... while we were riding in the car together," Christie said of the president.

Obama's tour of the Garden State came as the storm headed toward Canada.

At least 6.2 million customers were without power Wednesday -- down from an estimated 8 million late Tuesday -- and more than 18,000 flights had been canceled since Sandy first started moving along the East Coast, after causing at least 67 deaths in the Caribbean.

Repair crews were reporting progress Wednesday in restoring electrical service to hundreds of thousands in West Virginia, but Kanawha County Manager Jennifer Sayre said in a release it might take until Sunday to get all service restored, The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette reported.

By Wednesday morning, the number of Appalachian Power customers without service was about 118,000 -- down from almost 126,000 Tuesday night, the power company said.

In the northern part of West Virginia, First Energy said 100,725 of its customers were without electricity Wednesday morning, down from almost 110,000 Tuesday night -- but more service disruptions were reported later Wednesday because of new snow accumulations.

First Energy said power would not be fully restored until next week.

Dominion Virginia Power said Wednesday it has restored service to more than 90 percent of its 205,000 Northern Virginia customers affected by the storm, and -- with a few exceptions -- full restoration is expected by Thursday night.

During a conference call with reporters Wednesday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the federal response to the disaster is intended to "get resources where they are needed as fast as possible without delays."

"We're asking everyone to be patient as we work with all speed we can to ... restore the necessities of life to areas affected by this storm," she said.

Red Cross Senior Vice President of Disaster Services Charley Shimanski said the organization's needs come down to two main items: blood and money. He said the storm has caused cancellation of large numbers of blood drives, putting a great strain on supplies, and he noted that providing shelter, food and other services in storm-damaged areas is very expensive.

In New York City, the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority restarted limited suburban commuter-rail service Wednesday and will resume limited subway service Thursday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Significant sections of the largest U.S. mass-transit system remained disabled.

Commuter-rail service was available on the Metro-North Commuter Railroad to the northern suburbs in New York and Connecticut and the Long Island Rail Road, between Manhattan and the length of Long Island. Limited subway service was to be restored between Manhattan and Brooklyn, Cuomo said.

Newark Liberty International and Kennedy International airports resumed operations, but many airlines still operated on a limited basis, said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the New York-area airports. LaGuardia Airport remained closed after suffering damage.

Stewart International Airport, 55 miles north of the city, also was open with limited service, the Port Authority said.

Philadelphia International Airport officials said operations were resuming Wednesday.

Amtrak said Wednesday it will provide modified Northeast Regional service beginning Thursday between Boston and New Haven, Conn., and between Newark, N.J., and points south. Amtrak said it will also operate shuttle service trains between Springfield, Mass., and New Haven, Keystone Service trains between Harrisburg, Pa., and Philadelphia, and Downeaster service trains between Boston and Portland, Maine, along with additional overnight services to and from the Northeast.

The announcement said Amtrak plans to restore modified service into and out of New York City Friday.

But no Northeast Regional service is planned between Newark and New Haven and no Acela Express service will be available for the length of the Northeast Corridor Thursday.

A huge fire burned on Mantoloking Island off the New Jersey shore, where flames could be seen shooting directly out of the sand, WABC-TV, New York, reported.

New Jersey authorities believe a gas main explosion may be the cause of the fire that spread quickly across the island, destroying several homes, the report said.

Firefighters could not reach the blaze due to storm damage on the roads leading to the island.

Neighborhoods in New Jersey were still deluged with water as Obama surveyed damage by helicopter and met with victims of the storm with Christie.

Obama, Christie and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate took an aerial tour aboard the presidential helicopter Marine One of New Jersey areas damaged by the storm and then went to Brigantine, an island northeast of Atlantic City -- where the president told residents gathered at a community center Christie "is working overtime to make sure that as soon as possible everybody can get back to normal."

Christie told the audience it is "really important to have the president of the United States acknowledge all the suffering that's going on here in New Jersey and I appreciate it very much. We're going to work together to make sure we get ourselves through this crisis and get everything back to normal. Thank you for coming, sir."

Christie -- the keynote speaker at this year's Republican National Convention and a harsh critic of the president at times -- is drawing some criticism from conservatives and other fellow Republicans for his effusive praise of Obama's handling of the storm response.

NBC News reported Christie said he would ask Obama to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to look into rebuilding beaches to protect towns, but he said "it won't be the same because some of the iconic things are washed into the ocean."

Much of the famed Boardwalk in Atlantic City was destroyed and the resort city for gambling and conventions was all but submerged.

The U.S. Navy Wednesday sent three helicopter carrier ships -- the USS Wasp, USS Carter Hall and USS Mesa Verde -- to the New Jersey and New York coasts, NBC reported. The ships are to function as landing platforms for military and civilian agency helicopters if needed, officials said.

The National Weather Service's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center said in its 11 a.m. EDT advisory winds, rain and snowfall were diminishing, and gale warnings were in effect for portions of the Great Lakes. Winds were expected to diminish, but coastal flooding along portions of the Great Lakes was possible, forecasters said.

Rather than identifying a location for the center of the storm, forecasters said multiple centers of circulation associated with the storm were across the lower Great Lakes.

Flood watches and warnings were posted across New England and flood warnings were in effect for portions of the northern mid-Atlantic region.

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect along the central Appalachians, and the mountains of West Virginia into western Maryland and southwest Pennsylvania were likely to get another 2 to 4 inches of snow. West Virginia has already had 3 feet of snow and at least 2 feet of snow has fallen in parts of Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

New York City's Bellevue Hospital Center was evacuating 500 patients Wednesday because of problems keeping the building powered.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital said Wednesday it has resumed performing surgical procedures and its emergency departments and dialysis centers are fully operational.

The hospital said it is still receiving patients from other area hospitals.

Obama signed federal emergency declarations for 10 states and the District of Columbia and spoke with 20 governors and mayors on a conference call.

New York financial markets resumed trading Wednesday even though much of the city was without electricity.

At least 80 homes caught fire and burned in a Queens neighborhood.

New York's subway system suffered the most devastating damage from floodwaters in the system's 108-year history, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota said Tuesday. The New York Harbor saltwater that gushed into subway tunnels may have corroded signal and switching systems, he said.

He said service would not be fully restored for at least four or five days.

New York buses began running again Tuesday afternoon and Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered a ride-sharing program for taxis.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut reopened many closed roads and bridges.

New York police executed several daring air rescues, dropping lifelines to rescue at least six people, including a child, the Times reported.

Police said there haven't been any signs of looting or other indications of crimes of opportunity taking place because of the storm, the Times said.

During an evening news conference Tuesday, Bloomberg said more police would be part of overnight shifts in the parts of the city still in darkness.

"This is the calm after the storm," one police officer told the Times.

Dangerous surf conditions were expected from Florida to New England for the next couple of days.

source: upi.com